Gated Deep Dives

Access research reports and presentations on the retail and technology ecosystem, including consumers, companies, economies, and retail and technology trends. Use the filters below to find research reports and presentations by sector, theme, company or other parameters. Alternatively, use the search box above to find relevant research content.

Deep Dive | March 3, 2020 Free Report

Best Practices for Using Data To Futureproof Retail

Retail has been undergoing seismic shifts in the last decade that have upended decades-old norms and created an entire new sets of often challenging customer expectations. The good news it, the same technology that has created these challenges also offers solutions.

Deep Dive | February 25, 2020 Premium

Coresight Matrix: AI Software for Communication

Our Coresight Matrix evaluates technology leaders and emerging players in the fast-growing AI software for communication segment.

Deep Dive | February 20, 2020 Premium

RetailTech: How Salesforce Has Become a Juggernaut in Retail Technology

Two decades ago, several Oracle employees left to found their own retail technology startup. Now, Salesforce dominates the cloud-based space, offering a variety of cutting-edge solutions to help retailers integrate online and offline.

Deep Dive | February 17, 2020 Premium

Chinese E-Commerce Platforms: Exploring the Diverse Opportunities for Brands

We assess China’s e-commerce landscape, which has evolved over the years to become more diverse, encompassing different verticals, cross-border commerce and social media. We highlight the moves being made by major players in the sector—such as Alibaba and JD.com—to drive traffic and better serve consumers, as well as discussing the opportunities in the China market that these platforms are offering brands and retailers.

Deep Dive | February 11, 2020 Premium

Is Omnichannel the Future for Furniture Retail?

In the furniture sector, e-commerce continues to grow rapidly as cross-channel shopping trends evolve. The shopping journey is therefore becoming more complex, and retailers are being forced to rethink how they engage with customers. We explore how major players in the home furnishing market are investing in omnichannel transformation, as well as the challenges associated with this type of strategy.

Deep Dive | February 4, 2020 Premium

Private Labels in US Beauty and Personal Care

We consider the penetration of private labels in the US beauty and personal care sector over recent years and discuss the impact of contextual factors such as market fragmentation. Private labels remain a hot topic in beauty, particularly in the skincare category, and leading retailers such as Amazon and Walmart debuted private-label beauty products in 2019. We offer our view on why private labels are important for retailers as well as the challenges they present.

Deep Dive | January 27, 2020 Premium

US Drugstores Adapt to a Digital Age within Healthcare and Beauty

With the drugstore retail sector evolving in the face of digital disruption, we explore how two traditional pharmacy chains—CVS and Walgreens—are responding to competition from e-pharmacy startups and other online rivals. We discuss a number of key strategies that the two companies are implementing to expand their offerings.

Deep Dive | January 13, 2020 Premium

Can AR and VR Be Game Changers in Furniture Retail?

Augmented and virtual reality technologies are slowly but surely transforming the shopping experience for consumers in both online and offline retail. We review how various store-based and digital-first furniture retailers are investing in these technologies and assess the impact, challenges and potential of these investments.

Deep Dive | January 8, 2020 Premium

Amazon Apparel Update: An Analysis of Listings on Amazon Fashion

In collaboration with competitive intelligence provider DataWeave, we aggregated data on almost 1 million women’s and men’s clothing products listed on Amazon.com. We analyze apparel listings by category, brand and seller to identify key trends on Amazon Fashion.

Deep Dive | January 2, 2020 Premium

Rental, Subscription and Resale: How Companies Are Tapping Demand

Under pressure from subscription and rental services, mainstream retailers are launching rental services of their own and teaming up with digital natives. We’re seeing brick-and-mortar retailers strike collaboration deals with online subscription services, launch their own services—and be acquired as digital natives look for physical space.

Deep Dive | December 19, 2019 Premium

Alibaba vs. Amazon: Head to Head in E-Commerce and Technology

Alibaba Group and Amazon are innovators in retailing and technology, and both are expanding their presence into international markets. Employing its “New Retail” strategy, could the emerging China giant threaten Amazon’s global dominance? We discuss the competition between these two companies, considering their retail ecosystems, global expansion plans, financial performance and internally developed technologies.

Deep Dive | December 17, 2019 Premium

3Q19 US Earnings Season Wrap-Up

Third-quarter 2019 retail earnings show mixed results across categories. Our coverage of the Coresight 100 reveal most companies beat consensus, but there were sectors that fared much better than others—and luxury was one that did not meet expectations despite recent recovery.

Deep Dive | December 16, 2019 Premium

Convenience Stores: More than Just Retail

Major convenience-store chains across China, Japan and the US—such as 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores and FamilyMart—are making significant moves to increase sales and store traffic in line with changing consumer preferences. We look at how this fast-growing retail sector is diversifying its offerings through a number of key trends, including a greater emphasis on foodservice and the introduction of delivery services and new store formats.

Deep Dive | December 11, 2019 Premium

Cannabis Insights: The Marijuana Consumer

We analyze the results of our US survey of marijuana (or cannabis) users, in nine states where marijuana is legal for recreational use. We look at how much marijuana users spend on the drug, how often they use marijuana and how they consume it, where they purchase the drug and why they use the drug—including medical and recreational reasons.

Deep Dive | December 10, 2019 Premium

Tencent’s Smart Retail Strategy

Chinese Internet giant Tencent is focusing on the business-to-business space through its “Smart Retail” concept—the company’s answer to Alibaba’s New Retail. Tencent’s Smart Retail ecosystem has a number of components that facilitate the integration of online and offline commerce, including the leveraging of WeChat mini programs, investment in JD.com and the exploitation of the company’s strength in gaming and digital entertainment.